The Morning After
by leafeater
Summary: After a full moon, Remus Lupin is afraid and confused. Sirius tries to comfort him. Non-slash.
1. Morning Tremor

Disclaimer - You know the drill. You don't seriously think I created Harry Potter, do you? Give me a break, I'm not that smart. No, these characters are the sole property of J. Rowling and a number of publishing companies.   
  
A/N - the sooner I get reviews, the sooner I'll write more. -Leaf   
  
THE MORNING AFTER  
  
"Full moon tonight," James Potter commented, not looking up from his Daily Prophet.   
  
"Is it?" Sirius Black feigned utter disinterest. "Dammit, there's no more cinnamon twists."  
  
"Because you ate them all, Sirius," Peter Pettigrew said dryly. "Where's Remus?"  
  
"Same place as always."  
  
"What's he do up there, do you think?" James asked, chewing idly on a piece of toast. "I mean, you never see him at breakfast the morning of a full moon, do you?"  
  
"Maybe he's a werewolf!" piped Sarah, another fifth-year with a taste for the irrational and, apparently, for eavesdropping.  
  
"Yes, I suppose he is," Sirius said mockingly. "Can't imagine why we didn't think of that, with all the werewolves running around every morning…"  
  
"He's in the astronomy tower, Sarah. And stop spying on us, would you?" Peter turned his attention back to the sizable portion of eggs on the plate in front of him. Sarah scowled and slid down a few seats to whisper heatedly with a group of girls.  
  
Sirius leaned back in his chair a little, gazing at the entrance to the Great Hall and hoping to see Remus Lupin walk in the door. Tonight, a much anticipated full moon, he and James intended to reveal their skills as animagi for the first time. He'd been bursting to tell Remus for weeks that tonight was the night, but had managed somehow to keep it in. He couldn't wait to see his friend's face when he transformed for the first time into his shaggy black dog persona.  
  
"I still don't see why I can't go," Peter said petulantly.   
  
"Because," said James, "you can't transform yet. All you can do is grow a stupid tail. Which means you won't be able to keep pace with the rest of us, and you'll call attention to us, and it'll look suspicious."  
  
"It's hard," Peter said. "It's not my fault I can't do it."  
  
"Look, we'll help you this month. Maybe next month you'll be ready."  
  
"What's the big deal?" Sirius asked him. "We've been doing this for two years. So what if you have to miss one time?"  
  
Peter's arguments ceased, but he flashed irritated glances at his friends. Annoyed, Sirius stood up. "I'm going to find Moony. Meet you guys later?" Without waiting for an answer, he took off, leaving James to deal with Peter.  
  
Remus Lupin lay in bed, not getting up.  
  
It was always harder to get up on the morning of the full moon.  
  
Maybe, he thought, I can just go back to sleep. Maybe I'll go to sleep and wake up tomorrow morning and it'll be over. But he knew that was useless. Even if he could fall asleep - and without stealing some sort of sleep aid from the hospital wing, he doubted he'd be able to - the wolf would never sleep through the night.  
  
His mind flitted through scenarios, playing them through his imagination. Suppose the chains broke tonight and he escaped into town? Suppose he came upon some people? Some children? Suppose he hurt or killed his best friends, the only friends he'd ever had?   
  
Remus couldn't remember what it was like not to have these worries.  
  
He remembered that full moon, that fateful night ten years ago. But before that, nothing.  
  
He remembered the feeling of freedom, of summer nights and staying out past one's bedtime. He had been playing with a quaffle outside his parents' house, a place he'd not seen since that night. The quaffle had rolled away, into a cluster of trees…  
  
The rest was fuzzy. It had been loud, very suddenly. Something huge and hot was on top of him. Something hurt. It hurt and hurt and didn't stop hurting, and he was sure he was dying. And then waking up the following morning, bruised and bloody and miles from home with no idea how he'd gotten there.  
  
It had taken him four full moons to figure out what was going on.   
  
From the age of five, Remus Lupin had had blood on his hands.  
  
He'd told no one. Each month, he'd hidden in the supply closet of the children's home that had found him and taken him in. When everyone had gone to bed, he'd snuck down to the basement, chained himself to a showerhead, and waited.  
  
It was excruciating. He had no memory of being the wolf, but waking up the next morning was always an ordeal. First the confusion, while he figured out where he was and why. Then he would start up in alarm, checking his chains, making sure he couldn't have escaped and hurt anyone. Only then did he begin to check himself for injuries, and they were always numerous. Apparently the wolf liked to gnaw on his legs; Remus' wrists and ankles were invariably bloody after a full moon.  
  
It was a difficult, painful life, but he managed it for nearly seven years. And then everything changed again.  
  
A social worker sat Remus down one day and explained that a letter had come to him from a special school for gifted children. Remus understood immediately - he had vague memories of his wizard parents, although he'd spent the last six years with muggles. He'd met with the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, and had liked and trusted him immediately. He'd decided to tell the professor his secret.  
  
Now, five years into his education, Remus had to admit that his life had improved vastly. He had friends, real ones, not just boys his own age to play with. His terrifying and shameful secret was no longer a secret, and his newfound friends had made it clear that it wasn't shameful either. Things hadn't been this good since before…since before.  
  
Still, he was afraid. And for a moment the old guilt, the guilt of those first four months, rose in his throat. The word murderer flashed in his mind for a moment.  
  
No, he told himself firmly. It was ten years ago. It's over. What's done is done.  
  
Remus took a deep breath and began the day. 


	2. The Beginning

Disclaimer - You know the drill. You don't seriously think I created Harry Potter, do you? Give me a break, I'm not that smart. No, these characters are the sole property of J. Rowling and a number of publishing companies.   
  
A/N - apparently there's been some confusion as to when this takes place, although I can't imagine why. To clarify, yes, the marauders ARE in school during the story. More specifically, they're in their fifth year. Thanks to those who actually read the story and reviewed J -Leaf  
  
THE MORNING AFTER  
  
At 6:00 sharp the familiar whisper came: "Sundown. Let's go."  
  
Sirius rose from the chair in front of the fire and stretched casually. "Gotta study," he said regretfully to the fourth year girls he'd been chatting up. He felt their eyes on him as he left the common room, knowing that he'd come up with a flimsy alibi. These girls were bound to know he had no intention of studying. Shit.  
  
"Nice one, Padfoot," James said, tossing the invisibility cloak over his friend as soon as they'd reached the corridor. "Studying, eh? I didn't know you could read."  
  
"Shut up, Prongs," Sirius replied, testing the new nickname James had come up with for himself.  
  
Once inside the tunnel under the Whomping Willow, the boys shed the cloak. Sirius felt oddly exposed; they had never been down this passage without it. He had a sudden urge to go ahead and transform, to make himself unrecognizable, but he held back. He wanted  
  
Remus to see.  
  
It had been Sirius who'd first discovered Remus' condition and, contradictory to his later boasts, it had been entirely by accident. They'd all been curious about Remus' constant disappearances, wondering where he went every month and why. Remus was a terrible liar, and his cover stories were pathetic. The night Sirius found out the truth, he'd told them something about a job interview that might run late. When Peter had asked him where he was seeking employment, he'd stammered the name of a restaurant downtown before running off.  
  
Yeah right. Sirius knew that restaurant, he'd snuck off-campus to eat there since first year when he and James had discovered a secret passage into a sweet shop downtown. Apart from Remus being underage, the place didn't even employ wizards. It was run by house-elves. Frustrated by his friend's lies and his own inability to gain his trust or to find out the truth, he'd gone outside to sit by the lake and sulk. It had been unusually quiet out that night, and Sirius had been sitting there for at least ten minutes before he'd figured it out - the Whomping Willow wasn't moving.  
  
Of course this phenomenon had to be investigated further. Sirius had approached the tree cautiously, remembering his first (and rather violent) encounter with it during his first year. He'd braced himself for the tree to spring into motion at any moment, but it hadn't, and at its base he'd come upon a dimly lit passage, with an inviting set of stairs leading down.   
  
The sun had set by this time, and the full moon cast eerie shadows through the passage entrance onto the walls of the tunnel. Sirius had wondered, perhaps for the first time in his life, whether he knew what he was doing. What did he expect to find at the end of this tunnel anyway?  
  
Whatever he'd expected, it hadn't prepared him for the shock of finding himself in a dilapidated old building that sounded as though it were in the process of being torn to bits. Something incredibly loud was going on upstairs. Sirius heard wood breaking, a howling cry, and growls that gave him chills. Whatever was up there, it didn't sound friendly. Which meant he'd had to go have a look and see for himself.   
  
Having never seen a werewolf before, Sirius hadn't known what he was seeing. He knew only that it was a monstrously large animal that seemed intent on ripping its own skin off. When he'd first reached the top of the stairs the wolf had frozen, and there was a heart stopping moment when it stared straight at him. Then it had howled, and charged, but Sirius had managed to wedge himself under the bed. The wolf tried to upend the bed, but it was bolted to the floor, and it had had to content itself with chewing at its feet. Sirius had been sick with fear for his life and horror at the sight of the wolf lapping up its own blood, whimpers of pain mixing with greedy, excited howls. He stayed there all night, pressed to the floor under the bed, afraid to leave, afraid even to breathe. It was unbearable, and yet as the moon set and the first rays of light spilled into the room, it had become far, far worse.  
  
The wolf had been quiet for several minutes when Sirius pried his eyes open. At first he hadn't understood what he was seeing. The wolf was shrinking, or so it seemed…its fur was…was it falling out? It almost seemed to be retracting into its skin. Horrified, Sirius watched as the monster he'd heard mutilating itself all night shifted painfully into the shape of his best friend Remus Lupin. And still he didn't understand. What was Remus doing here? He was hurt…had the wolf hurt him? What had just happened? Where was the wolf?  
  
Remus' wrists were bloody; he lay curled on the floor licking at his wounds, whimpering. And suddenly Sirius knew.  
  
"Oh God…" he whispered aloud, staring at his friend. Desperation filled him; he'd longed to go to Remus, to comfort him, to clean his wrists and - somehow - make everything all right. But should he? Would Remus want to see him now? Was he - and Sirius felt ashamed as soon as the thought had entered his mind - was he still dangerous?  
  
The decision had been taken out of his hands. Remus had seen him. For a moment he'd just stared, then he'd begun screaming and sobbing. "No…Sirius, please no…god…oh god…not Sirius, please not…"  
  
"Hey!" By this time Sirius had emerged from under the bed and had grabbed his friend's shoulders. "Hey, Remus, calm down. It's okay. I'm not gonna tell anybody." Remus was shaking, pale, and, Sirius suddenly realized, still bleeding. He pulled off his shirt and began tearing it into strips to bind his friend's hands.   
  
Remus sank to his knees, leaning heavily on Sirius. "I thought…I thought I…" he swallowed hard. "You're…you're not hurt…you're all right?"  
  
"Oh…" Sirius pulled Remus into a hug, rubbed his back gently. "I'm okay. Nothing happened, Remus. Everything's all right. Oh Remus, why didn't you tell us?"  
  
"I…I couldn't! You would have…you'd hate me or…"  
  
"Hate you!" Sirius held Remus back at arm's length and stared. "Why would we hate you? Don't you know we're your friends?"  
  
"But I could've killed you!" Remus sobbed. "Were…were you here all night?" When Sirius nodded, he let out a moan of despair. "How could you do that, Sirius! Why? Do you know what it would've been like? What if I'd…oh my god…"  
  
Sirius had held him like that for the better part of an hour, and on Remus' orders had sworn never again to enter the shack during a full moon. When Remus had calmed down enough, they walked back to the Gryffindor common room and told James and Peter what had happened.  
  
Years of preparation had gone into tonight. No one agreed on who had come up with the idea. Sirius insisted it had been James, while James maintained Peter had said it first. Peter claimed he never came up with the ideas, and that it must have been James or Sirius. He'd not been entirely wrong about that point, Sirius remembered wryly. Peter was all for following along with James' and Sirius' plans, but you'd be hard pressed to remember one he himself had thought of.   
  
They'd been sitting around a table in the library a few weeks after Sirius' discovery, trying to come up with ways to help Remus. The moon was waxing again, and their friend had been quieter lately. They all knew he was dreading the impending full moon.  
  
"How about this?" Peter had suggested, shoving a book at them. "Taming wild wolves, page seventeen?"  
  
James rolled his eyes heavenward. "Peter, come on man."  
  
"That won't work on a werewolf," Sirius said nicely. "Probably just make it mad."  
  
"Oh," Peter looked sheepish. "I guess it says that here…"  
  
They resumed searching.  
  
It had been hours before the idea of Animagi had been brought to the table. Sirius' version of events held that James had found the idea in a book. They'd discussed it idly, a neat thing to do and suddenly - and everyone agreed here - James' eyes had lit up.   
  
"We'll do it!"  
  
"We'll…what?" Sirius had been taking the whole thing as a joke.  
  
"We'll become Animagi! We can do this, look, it doesn't look that hard."  
  
"It does look hard," Peter had said doubtfully, and for once Sirius had been in complete agreement. The process of becoming an Animagus looked disturbingly complex. It would require years of work, of study, practice, potion-brewing, and charms. "We won't be able to do it any time soon," Peter added as if he'd been following Sirius' thoughts.  
  
"How's that going to help Remus?" Sirius demanded.  
  
"Look!" James jabbed excitedly at a passage in another book. "Werewolves are only a danger to humans! In animal form, we'll be safe, see? We can stay with him!"  
  
Remus had nearly cried when they'd told him what they were planning. Then he'd been furious. "You can't," he'd told them angrily. "It's illegal, you'd be expelled, you'd probably be killed when I got whiff of you…I'm not having it."  
  
"And you!" he'd added, turning on Sirius, very upset. "You promised!"  
  
"Listen, Remus, we won't do it if you really don't want us to…" Peter began.  
  
"Like hell we won't!" Sirius had interrupted. "We're doing it, Remus, whether you like it or not. Only you better like it, because if you don't it'll just be a waste of time." Softening at the frightened look Remus gave him, he added, "Remus, you're our best friend. We care about you. It's not dangerous, the wolf won't hurt us as animals. You know it won't."  
  
Remus sighed. "I know…it's only dangerous to humans."  
  
"And we won't be expelled," James said, "because we've got the invisibility cloak. We'll use that whenever we're doing anything illegal, and as animals no one will recognize us. Remus, it's barely a risk and it's more than worth it. Think about it - you'd never have to be alone again. We'd be with you all night. We'd keep you from biting yourself, it'd be so much better for you. Please let us try."  
  
Remus wavered. "Promise you'll be careful?"  
  
"Swear," Sirius said solemnly. "We won't let anything happen, Remus. It'll be okay."  
  
For a moment they thought he'd still say no. Then suddenly he was in floods, diving at them, hugging them. "You're the best friends anyone ever had!" 


	3. Animagi

Disclaimer - You know the drill. You don't seriously think I created Harry Potter, do you? Give me a break, I'm not that smart. No, these characters are the sole property of J. Rowling and a number of publishing companies.   
  
A/N - Glad to hear everyone's enjoying it J The last chapter was mostly in flashback as I'm sure you noticed, and now we're back to the main storyline. Keep on reviewin'! -Leaf  
  
THE MORNING AFTER  
  
"What'll it be tonight, Moony?" Sirius asked. "Chess? Exploding snap?"   
  
"No," Remus said softly, his gaze fixed on the steadily darkening sky. It was routine by now - Sirius always offered a game, Remus always declined. It was so frightening, waiting for the full moon, and it didn't get any easier. Sirius had known he wouldn't play, he was just trying to calm him. Distract him. As though anything could.  
  
James had brought along a set of marbles and was rolling them along the floor, aiming for a small crack in the baseboard. Remus tracked them with his eyes. James' aim was no good - more often than not, a marble would rebound off the baseboard and go shooting off in another direction - but Remus preferred watching his friend to looking for the moon. He fished around for something to say. "Did you bring the dungbombs?"  
  
Silence. Sirius and James exchanged a significant look. Finally James spoke. "Uh, no, Moony, we didn't."  
  
Remus started. "But…you've got to go! You can't stay here, I could transform at any moment, and without the dungbombs I'll smell you! Don't you know what could happen? Get out of here!" He was amazed at his friends' stupidity; how could they forget something as important as the dungbombs? They'd been doing this for over two years now, surely they couldn't have forgotten that once Remus transformed, they'd need to use the dungbombs to get out undetected?  
  
It always worked the same way - his friends would sit with him and await the transformation. Once it began, the pain and the madness, they would hold him by his shoulders and hands, soothing him and reassuring him that it would soon be over. When the transformation was complete and the wolf had taken hold, they would use the dungbombs to cover their scent while they ran for the exit. It was risky, but up to now it had never failed.   
  
But without the dungbombs, they wouldn't have a chance. The wolf could outrun them easily, and without the head start the temporary odor of the dungbombs provided, they'd be caught before they'd left the room.   
  
Why was Sirius smiling like that? "What?" Remus asked suspiciously. "What aren't you telling me?"  
  
Sirius continued to smile wickedly. Suddenly, without warning, his form began to shift. Remus stared in awe as his friend gradually took on the appearance of a large black dog. He turned to James for explanation, but in his place stood a gleaming, proud stag. "What the hell?" Remus murmured.  
  
Suddenly something connected. "You didn't!"  
  
In answer, the dog padded softly over to Remus and sat down beside him protectively. The stag circled them both, then presented its head to be patted.  
  
"Oh my god," Remus breathed, taking it in. "I'd forgotten! You really did it! Oh, I can't believe this!" He knelt and threw his arms around the dog. Then he faced the stag. "Thank you so much…"  
  
Perhaps Remus was about to begin a litany of gratitude, but Sirius and James never got to hear it. At that moment, the sky cleared and the moon rose.   
  
Remus' eyes became a swirling, chaotic vortex. His entire body heaved, his mouth open in a silent cry of pain. His bones began to shift, reforming themselves into the shape of a wolf. Muscles stretched unnaturally, skin was pulled taut. Sirius, seeing his friend's pain, began to whimper and pressed his muzzle into Remus' hand, and shockingly, felt Remus squeeze. Was he aware of Sirius?  
  
James had noticed, and nudged his head under the palm of Remus' other hand. Remus slid his hand to James' back and gripped fiercely. His face contorted into a miserable howl as his legs lengthened and fur began to sprout.   
  
Sirius was distracted by a sharp pain. Remus' grip on his muzzle had been punctuated by the arrival of the wolf's claws, and they were digging into his face. He saw blood on the stag's back and knew the same thing had happened to James.  
  
The transformation ended as suddenly as it had begun. The wolf removed its claws from the stag and the dog and sniffed. For a sickening moment, Sirius was afraid it would recognize the blood on his face as human and attack, but it only howled in frustration and settled in to gnaw at its own feet.  
  
James had not seen this before, but Sirius had, and had known to expect it. He dived at the wolf and curled up atop its front paws, denying it access. The wolf, not to be deterred from its mission of drawing blood, threw Sirius off violently. He skidded across the room and headlong into the wall. Shaken but unhurt, he launched himself at the wolf and they met in midair. The wolf was angered now, and it scratched and bit at Sirius. The claws raked along his muzzle again, and he gasped at the pain. Before it registered, however, the wolf was gone, and Sirius knew the stag had entered the fight.  
  
James had the wolf backed up to the wall and was holding it at bay with his powerful antlers. Sirius barked to get their attention and then took off into the lower part of the house. The wolf pursued him, but Sirius was pleased to see that as a dog he could outrun it. He led it around until he was exhausted, then ran back upstairs. James was waiting, and when the wolf entered he backed it up to the wall again.   
  
The wolf appeared to have given up. It curled up beside the wall and began worrying at its foreleg with its teeth. Sirius felt his heart clench as he heart the delighted howls and agonized whimpers begin. He'd forgotten how horrible this was. He approached the wolf slowly. It looked up, saw him coming, and snarled. Sirius stopped but did not back away, and when the wolf returned to its leg he approached again. This time the wolf allowed him a bit closer before stopping him, and bit by bit Sirius made his way to the wolf's side. He lay down next to it. Then he reached over and gently put his paw on top of the wolf's paw.  
  
It was a terrible risk and Sirius knew it. There was every chance the wolf would just snap his paw right off. He didn't know what made him do it, except that it hurt too much to stand by and watch his friend do this to himself. It made no difference that this wasn't really Remus - in a few hours it would be, and Remus would have to live with whatever this wolf did. The wolf looked up at him, and Sirius met its gaze calmly. Then something in the eyes shifted. The chaos cleared a little, and Sirius would later swear he'd nearly seen Remus looking out at him. The wolf relaxed, settled to the floor. James walked over and lay down on its other side. They stayed like that all night, surrounding Remus with care and love.  
  
Sirius was dozing a little when he felt an antler poke him. He glanced over and saw that the wolf was gone. Remus was back. Sirius let himself transform as well, and saw that James had done the same. Then he noticed something else, something unbelievable - Remus was asleep.   
  
As far as Sirius knew, Remus had never slept on the night of the full moon. He had always come out of his transformations lucid and in pain. Now, while his wrist was raw and bloody, he was much calmer than Sirius had ever seen him the morning after a transformation. He had a slightly concerned look on his face, as though he were having a troubling nightmare, but he was sleeping. It was surreal.  
  
James had pulled some strips of cloth from his pocket and now began to clean and bind Remus' wrist. As he worked, Remus stirred, then opened his eyes a little. "James?" He whispered, his throat hoarse from howling. "What…what's going on…?"  
  
James smoothed his hair. "It's okay, Moony. It's over."  
  
"'S over?"  
  
Sirius took Remus' other hand, the uninjured one, and rubbed gently. "That's right, it's all over."  
  
"But…" Remus had seen Sirius' face. "You're hurt…"  
  
James looked up. "He's right, mate, you're all scratched up. You ought to get up to the hospital wing."  
  
Remus sat up suddenly. "Sirius! Did I…I did that, didn't I!" He grabbed his friend's arm, panicking. "I told you! I told you not to stay! You promised!" He was nearly in tears now. "You promised, Sirius," he cried. "I could've killed you! I could've bitten you!"  
  
Overcome, Sirius pulled his friend close and let Remus cry on his shoulder. "Moony…relax, everything's okay. I was a dog all night, it wouldn't matter if you'd bitten me."  
  
"It would matter!" Remus cried. "I couldn't stand it if I'd hurt you! And your face is all cut up and it's my fault!"  
  
"Shhh…" Sirius soothed, rubbing his friend's back. "Calm down…shhh…it's okay now…it's all over…Moony, I'll be fine. We'll go together up to the hospital wing, I'll just say James and I crashed into each other flying or something. Our brooms scratched each other."  
  
Rather than be comforted, Remus spun to face James. "You too?"  
  
Reluctantly, James nodded. "Yeah, just a bit on my back."  
  
"Show me," Remus demanded, and when James had slipped out of his shirt and Remus had seen the deep claw marks on his back he collapsed into a fresh round of sobs. Sirius held him close, desperate to comfort him.  
  
"Moony?" He said, gently rubbing Remus' back. "Do you remember any of last night?"  
  
"I…I remember…you guys were animagi…"  
  
"That's right, and the wolf is only dangerous to humans. If you'd bitten us, it would be no worse than a dog bite. Do you remember anything after you transformed?"  
  
"N..no…"  
  
Sirius held him tight. "The wolf was calm, Moony. You lay down and didn't bite yourself and you let me and James lie there with you. And you fell asleep."  
  
"I fell asleep?" Remus sounded disbelieving.  
  
"You did," Sirius smiled at him.   
  
"Then…how'd I hurt you guys?"  
  
"You were hanging on to us while you transformed," James spoke up, "and when your claws came in you were still gripping pretty tight." He grinned. "And, of course, Sirius ran you ragged all over the house before he'd let you come back here and relax.  
  
Remus was still tense; Sirius could feel it. "But I could've killed you…"  
  
"No, you couldn't," James said firmly, meeting Remus' eyes. "We were both able to outrun you, and you didn't want to kill us anyway. You would've ignored us completely if we hadn't been trying to keep you from chewing your arm off."  
  
Remus closed his eyes, and a solitary tear slid down his cheek. Then, finally, he relaxed into Sirius' embrace. James knelt beside him and wrapped his arms around them both. Sirius thought he might cry with relief - they'd finally found a way to help Remus, and it actually worked.  
  
After several moments they disentangled. James stood, and Remus sat up, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "Okay now?" Sirius asked with a grin.  
  
"Yeah," Remus smiled back. "Okay now." 


	4. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot & Prongs

Disclaimer - You know the drill. You don't seriously think I created Harry Potter, do you? Give me a break, I'm not that smart. No, these characters are the sole property of J. Rowling and a number of publishing companies.   
  
A/N - This is the last chapter, unfortunately. I've enjoyed writing this so much that I'm going to get straight to work on a sequel, the first chapter of which should be up by tonight. Thanks to all my readers, especially Sirius Padfoot!  
  
THE MORNING AFTER  
  
Remus, Sirius, and James all marched up to the hospital wing together and presented themselves to Madam Pomfrey.  
  
This in itself was nothing new. She was accustomed to the three of them arriving together on nights after the full moon, it had been that way for years. Although she had never asked, Madam Pomfrey was fairly sure Remus had told the other boys of his condition, and assumed they must be showing their support by walking with him. It was possible Remus had even told them how to get into the passage under the Whomping Willow; perhaps they snuck in and cleaned him up a bit before bringing him in. More than once she had seen him come in with bandages over the worst of his wounds.  
  
Today, however, something was different. Usually Remus came in exhausted and in pain, but today he was almost giddy. There was hardly a scratch on him; in fact, aside from a bloodstained cloth tied around his wrist, he looked unharmed. James and Sirius wore huge grins on their mischievous faces, and Sirius' face was covered with scratches. Claw-sized scratches. One didn't have to be a trained healer to guess what had happened here, and yet when Sirius approached her, he announced, "Me and James crashed our brooms into each other."  
  
James nodded solemnly, then turned around and displayed his back, which was scratched to hell. "Your brooms," she repeated skeptically.   
  
"Yep," James said soberly. "We're real crummy fliers."  
  
This set off a round of giggles from Remus. James was the best flier in their year.  
  
"What were you doing out flying at four in the morning?" Madam Pomfrey asked.   
  
"Well," Sirius began. "We, uh…Quidditch practice." Sirius wasn't on the Quidditch team.  
  
"Yeah," James agreed, grinning. "We had to practice."  
  
"How," Madam Pomfrey demanded "did you manage to crash your brooms in midair in such a way as to scratch your back and his face?"  
  
"I was, er, riding backward," Sirius began, "and then I turned upside down. It's a new maneuver. The Padfoot Roll."  
  
"The Padfoot Roll."  
  
"Yeah," James grinned. "The Padfoot Roll."  
  
Madam Pomfrey wasn't buying it, but the boys clung to their story and there was nothing for it but to clean them up. She glanced at the happy, contented smile on Remus' face. She'd never seen him so calm the morning after a transformation. Whatever they'd done, she decided, it must be worth it if it made this poor boy so happy. Nodding to herself, she went to get Remus' potions.  
  
Sirius clambered up onto a bed, and Remus settled into the neighboring one. James flopped down on a third, on his stomach. "Pretty good night, eh?"  
  
"The best," Remus grinned."  
  
Peter came bursting in, pushing a food trolley he'd liberated from the kitchens. "Breakfast! I got fruit, eggs, toast…" All alight with triumph, he began handing out plates.  
  
"Wow, good one, Pete," Sirius took the plate Peter was holding out to him and went to town on a stack of waffles. Peter pulled a chair over and listened as James began outlining the night's events.   
  
"There's one thing I still don't get," Remus said. "How come you didn't come last night, Peter? You missed a good time."  
  
"Oh, well…" Peter blushed. "I can't quite transform just yet…I mean, it's a lot harder than these guys make it look. But I'll be ready next month!"  
  
"You're not that far off," James was inclined to be kind, considering the breakfast buffet before him. "You've got the tail."  
  
"Yeah, that's the hardest part," Sirius agreed. "I couldn't get the tail for months, remember? I looked like one of those damn sheepdogs."  
  
Peter laughed, remembering. "You did look like an idiot. Remember how James couldn't get the antlers at first and looked like a doe?"  
  
James was annoyed. "I did not!"  
  
"You did, Prongs," Sirius laughed. "At least you were better than last year when I tried it and didn't have any fur."  
  
"Or," Peter interjected, "Remember the time I screwed up the tail, and you guys said it looked like a worm was biting my butt?"  
  
James laughed at the memory. "Yeah. Wormtail."  
  
"Wormtail…" Remus tasted the new nickname. "Let me see."  
  
Glancing around to make sure Madam Pomfrey was still occupied, Peter screwed up his face. A moment later, a thick tail appeared. Remus howled with laughter. "That's fantastic! Wormtail!"  
  
"Yeah," Sirius grinned. "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. There'll be no stopping us."  
  
Giddy with relief and pride, the boys turned their attention to breakfast.  
  
END 


End file.
